The myth of the bright red scarf
I’ve just returned to my host country this term after a week of traveling around northwestern Europe. For the purposes of this column, where I went is not nearly as pertinent as what I saw. All across Europe, there exists a secret society: the society of those who wear bright red scarves. Meetings are never […]
The history of ideas: a discipline for all
Truth be told, I’ve been wanting to write this column for a while. Alas, for all the time that I’d meant to write it I’ve been, shall we say, compromised. From August 2022 to January 2024, I was the History of Ideas (HOID) Program’s Undergraduate Department Representative (UDR). I surmised that the sincerity of my […]
Representative democracy and the Student Union Senate’s failure to uphold it
Editor’s note: As an independent news source for the Brandeis community, The Hoot and its editorial board support publishing all opinions of our students, faculty and staff. As such, The Hoot does not serve as an arbiter on the sensitive topics herein. The views expressed within are not necessarily reflective of the beliefs of The […]
Time and the wasting of it
The inspiration for the title of this article is credited to my friend and Editor-in-Chief of The Brandeis Hoot, Cooper Gottfried ’25. A week before I had left campus for summer break, I booked an office hours appointment with my advisor. I had booked the appointment with the intention of getting his suggestions for […]
Upperclassmenship
Shortly before this term began, I had a conversation with my older brother, who had just finished his five-year B.S./M.S. degree. He asked how I felt about entering my third year of undergrad, and I responded with what I think most of us would consider to be a pretty standard answer, the content of which […]
Being of two worlds
I have found the annual exercise of leaving for summer holiday to be acutely challenging. My experience with the most-recent Great Departure, if I may call it as such, only reinforced this feeling in my mind. I found the acts of clapping at the commencement of final lectures, returning rented books and the ever-hellish experience […]
The peculiarity of undergrad
In a recent conversation with a beloved professor of mine, I asked “Why are you answering emails at 11 p.m.? What are you, an undergraduate?” Now mostly I was being cheeky at the fact that my very-much-past-undergraduate-aged professor was answering emails way past times ordinary laborers consider ‘working hours’; yet I think that, beneath the […]
My journey home: how I fell in (belated) love with my hometown
This essay was written in a spurt of creativity the night of January 13, 2023. That night, I was flying from Albuquerque, New Mexico back to Boston for the start of the Spring 2023 term. I am publishing this essay now as I prepare to return to the desert for Passover break; I decided now […]
Hardcover vs. softcover books: Which one is better?
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative column by Gonny Nir and Jamie Trope. In this column, the authors explore questions big & small, worthwhile & worthless, obvious & absurd, all for the humble pursuit of knowledge, truth and sanity (or lack thereof). Dear Jamie, Now this question truly does boil down to […]
The psychology of the placement of a desk at office hours
This term has uncovered something quite curious to me: the placement of the desk in a professor’s office completely changes the ambience of office hours. Allow me to explain. I have two professors this term who do not have a desk placed between them and their prospective visitor in their offices. In the first case, […]
Is Jell-O actually good, or are we fooling ourselves?
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative column by Gonny Nir and Jamie Trope. In this column, the authors explore questions big & small, worthwhile & worthless, obvious & absurd, all for the humble pursuit of knowledge, truth and sanity (or lack thereof). Greetings, Gonny! First and foremost, I would like to […]
‘I Could Only Think in Terms of Me, and Now I Understand’
For most of last term I wrestled with a question: who am I? I think that most people, particularly within the college-age bracket, will have asked themselves this kind of question at least once. Afterall, plenty of thinkers from Aristotle to Descartes to Marx to James to Camus and countless others have tackled the age-old […]
How important are shoes?
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative column by Gonny Nir and Jamie Trope. In this column, the authors explore questions big and small, worthwhile and worthless, obvious and absurd, all for the humble pursuit of knowledge, truth and sanity (or lack thereof). Hello Jamie, Well, my first question is, who’s asking? […]
The tragedy of the common(s) course
There’s a well-known problem in political economy: the tragedy of the commons. The problem proposes that where there is a sought after, but limited resource and an unregulated group of agents, the agents, hypothetically acting in their own self-interest, will deplete the resource. The problem underscores that in situations where there is a lack of […]
Prioritizing utility over swag?
This article is part of an ongoing collaborative column by Gonny Nir and Jamie Trope. In this column, the authors explore questions big and small, worthwhile and worthless, obvious and absurd, all for the humble pursuit of knowledge, truth and sanity (or lack thereof). Greetings Gonny! In one of our previous in-person discussions, […]
The great man theory of history: a reflection
Note: This piece was adapted from a speech given at the History of Ideas program’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero!” event. I think this theory gets at something more fundamental than simply “does history make great men, or do great men make history?” I think this theory boils down to a question of emphasis. […]
